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Government regulation of Churches?

Government deal with churches?

  • Do nothing.

    Votes: 13 61.9%
  • Do everything - (some have built in Starbucks)

    Votes: 4 19.0%
  • Do something (specify)

    Votes: 4 19.0%
  • Don't know/care

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • Total voters
    21
"Churches should be taxed because they are not charities. They are very much businesses."

"Churches should be regulated because they deal in hate speech, fraud, and continuously harbor child molesters"

If pastors rake in money and use it for their own vain wants, it's fraud. Government should place signs and info pamphlets within the church to increase awareness against fraud, hate speech, bigotry, etc.
 
There are also a lot of churches with predominantly one race, like black/white/etc. Such social segregation must be stopped and regulated. Let the government fix it. If churches can't get with government's flow, penalize them. Or only white churches..

Now future comprehensive arguments on this can snowball further.
 
There are also a lot of churches with predominantly one race, like black/white/etc. Such social segregation must be stopped and regulated. Let the government fix it. If churches can't get with government's flow, penalize them. Or only white churches..

Now future comprehensive arguments on this can snowball further.

At the risk of being thread banned again, this is a retarded argument. People CHOOSE to go to churches they like. It's not like a Church says "no darkies!". They'll welcome anyone. People go where they are comfortable with the church, the congregation, and the religion. People MUST be free to make that choice. Government forced thought control is not a good situation, it will not end in a good place.
 
"Churches should be taxed because they are not charities. They are very much businesses."

"Churches should be regulated because they deal in hate speech, fraud, and continuously harbor child molesters"

If pastors rake in money and use it for their own vain wants, it's fraud. Government should place signs and info pamphlets within the church to increase awareness against fraud, hate speech, bigotry, etc.

The first two lines are in quotes, but the only one I see saying them is you. Who said them?
 
As my Sig suggests, this thread is a notion I'm entertaining.

What you may find scary, is that I used these points from my uber-liberal college colleagues. Do you think this can't happen? It is very slowly gaining momentum. Stay vigilant.
 
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As my Sig suggests, this thread is a notion I'm entertaining.

What you may find scary, is that I used these points from my Knee-liberal college colleagues. Do you think this can't happen? It is very slowly gaining momentum. Stay vigilant.

The constitution stands firm, this won't happen.
 
Should churches be defunded? If I recall they believe, iirc, taxpayer money. Or do they pay no taxes?

Isn't it also true that churches, especially large churches, are run like businesses? Tax it. Iirc, I once saw a church worker bring a wheelbarrow down the aisle for tithes. This is true.

These pseudo-businesses require tithes up to 10%. Perhaps catholicism can be an exception because it's a donation system.

Do you think the government should regulate preaching, like monitoring for hate speech against homosexuals and prostitutes? Should churches be entirely defended? Taxed? Or the tithe system abolished?

Should they be dealt with?

Ummmm, the tithe system is established by your infallible bible. You want to change that by law?

Churches are similiar to non profits, in that there is no ownership. While there may be a "profit" no dividends are paid and the increase in assets will not increase the value of any stock or owner's equity. The profit goes to capital improvement funds, to pay down debt or maybe just to provide a cushion against hard times. Yes some churches will build some crazy water park for Jesus. But as long as they get the money free of force I don't really care. I am with Your Star, taxing them would be far too risky.

As for regulating what they preach, you have got to kidding me? HELL NO!

The government should not enter the church's domain, at all.

Is this just some sort of Devil's advocate routine? I don't know, but I am often amazed at how ignorant people are of the reasons for our founding principles.
 
As my Sig suggests, this thread is a notion I'm entertaining.

What you may find scary, is that I used these points from my uber-liberal college colleagues. Do you think this can't happen? It is very slowly gaining momentum. Stay vigilant.

Bull. I have heard a handful of lefties call for removing tax exemption. No one takes them seriously. I have not heard anyone call for regulating their sermons. Maybe the righties that want to close the Muslims down.
 
As my Sig suggests, this thread is a notion I'm entertaining.

What you may find scary, is that I used these points from my uber-liberal college colleagues. Do you think this can't happen? It is very slowly gaining momentum. Stay vigilant.

I'm sure people can say this or that. But actually getting it into law is another thing. Staying alive after that is still yet another thing.
 
You should not tax churches just like the constitution says.
 
Should churches be defunded? If I recall they believe, iirc, taxpayer money. Or do they pay no taxes?

Isn't it also true that churches, especially large churches, are run like businesses? Tax it. Iirc, I once saw a church worker bring a wheelbarrow down the aisle for tithes. This is true.

These pseudo-businesses require tithes up to 10%. Perhaps catholicism can be an exception because it's a donation system.

Do you think the government should regulate preaching, like monitoring for hate speech against homosexuals and prostitutes? Should churches be entirely defended? Taxed? Or the tithe system abolished?

Should they be dealt with?

This would signal the end of freedom of religion and freedom of speech as we know it.
 
You should not tax churches just like the constitution says.

The constitution certainly does not say you cannot tax churches. Separation of church and state simply means that the government cannot disallow any religion or promote any religion above another. It doesn't say anything about taxing churches.
 
The constitution stands firm, this won't happen.

"The constitution is an old piece of paper."

"It's a living document."

Look at history. What is politics? It is naive to think it cannot happen slowly but surely.
 
"The constitution is an old piece of paper."

"It's a living document."

Look at history. What is politics? It is naive to think it cannot happen slowly but surely.

There is always that possibility. There's also the possibility of being shot for implementing such a thing.
 
There is always that possibility. There's also the possibility of being shot for implementing such a thing.

And, like the gun control debate, it will surely stop them.
 
"The constitution is an old piece of paper."

"It's a living document."

Look at history. What is politics? It is naive to think it cannot happen slowly but surely.

Why do you keep making these vague, unattributed quotes?
 
I think you'll find that the majority of homeless shelters, soup kitchens, shelters for battered women or abused children, and so forth in any given town... are likely run by and funded by a local church.

Most churches do at least some charity work; some do TONS of it.

Taxing them to a significant degree is likely to result in some degree of loss of private charitable activity.
 
Thousands of people are suckered into forming over millions of dollars. It's ludicrous that pastors work over the crowds and live lavishly. Ever noticed how a lot of "humble" pastors live? Expensive cars, clothes, suits?

Think about it.

Yeah, but Jeffery Dahmer was gay. Doesn't mean all homosexuals are mass murderers.
 
I am not a fan of taxing organizations that contribute to the good of society.
 
I don't think it is wise because they definitely help communities far more than hurt them and do more for communities than any given business to help people. Since most churches do a lot of charity work wouldn't they end up paying nearly no taxes anyways with deductions? I think perhaps they should pay local taxes, and make sure that anyone working for the church gets taxed accordingly but that's it.
 
And, like the gun control debate, it will surely stop them.

Well to try would be worth it. I could not abide by your form of treason and tyranny.
 
The average pastor probably doesn't live much (if any) better than most of his church's members.

Most pastors are at a church where average attendence is less than 200. Most of them live in a modest sized house ("pastorium") which has seen better days and doesn't belong to them... it belongs to the church.

Most of them do not get a lavish salary... in fact most of them have to budget carefully to get by.

If the congregation decides to fire them, and that can happen for any reason or none, they will have to vacate the house they live in quickly and find somewhere else to stay with little or no income. They literally live on the sufferance of their parishoners.

In many cases the pastor's wife is expected to be heavily involved in the Church's social activities... and if she has a job that makes that impossible, many of the members will grumble about that and be displeased.

Many pastors of small country churches also have a "day job" and are self-supporting, because the church is so small (and the congregation of modest means) that it can't pay the pastor enough to live on. Some pastors do this anyway because they think it is the right thing to do... but it does make it tough to work a full time job and be on-call 24/7 for members having some kind of crisis, whether it is marriage crisis, serious illness/sudden hospitalization, spiritual matter or whatever.

Most pastors work very hard indeed, and spend a lot of time helping others deal with grief, loss, financial problems, marital problems, child-rearing problems, drunken abusive spouses... and most don't ever get rich or live "lavish" lifestyles. It is a pity that the flamboyant big-name TV preachers get all the attention... there are so many humble pastors who labor all their lives for others' benefit, quietly fulfilling their calling for meagre compensation, while scoffers and buffoons make fun of their profession and claim they're all in it for the money.

Most of the pastors I've known, if you told them they were in it for the money, would laugh at such an idea, while showing you an empty wallet and a 15 year old car.
 
Somebody created a "devils advocate" thread.

Sorry. Someone needed to say it. Carry on.
 
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